Page 12

12

Claira

“E ver heard of knocking?”

Leander combed his hair back with a hand and shrugged. “I don’t recall you knocking when you came into my bedchamber.” Chuckling, he cut a glance over to my wall and tipped his chin to the marlin tail in a greeting. “I wanted to see if you’d added to your collection since the last time I was here.”

My eyes rolled, then conveniently landed on my bag sitting next to my bedside table. “Oh, there you are,” I mumbled, snatching it up. Recalling the reason I’d come to my room in the first place, I began rummaging through it. “Not gonna lie, Lee—I did have the urge to flay some tails after your last visit. Do you know how many times I had to shampoo my rug to get your funky fish smell out of it?”

One by one, I took stock of my things. Lip balm, compact mirror, emergency fishing wire… I thumbed through my cash and moved a folded wad of receipts to uncover my phone. Ah ha!

I tried to turn it on, but the black screen told me the battery had drained while I was away. “Figures,” I huffed.

Leander rumbled another laugh, a teasing sound that drew my attention away from my phone. The smirk waiting for me was equal parts flirty and sinful, like he was readying to pounce and spread me out on my bed. “So, you wanted to collect more trophies, but then you realized my tail was the only one worth having, right?”

He moved a step closer, his icy eyes sharpening on me until anticipation hummed in the air around us. My core was afire with his nearness, my body begging to be claimed and pinned by him. Damn, what was wrong with me? Was it the thrall or these mermen that had my libido in overdrive? I shoved those feelings down, way down, and took a steadying breath. Now was not the time.

I shook away the spell of his merman charm by reminding myself that he’d summoned trident magic to get back at a freaking seagull . “Still trying to smooth things over from when you broke your promise and raged on the beach, huh?”

It was hard to accept Leander’s childishness. Especially right after he’d told me he wasn’t ever going to use the magic in the first place.

Sighing, I got to my feet and shouldered past him to get to my phone charger.

As soon as I had my phone plugged in and set on my dresser, Leander’s arms came around me from behind. A second later, his breath was in my ear. “I’ve been waiting to do this all day.” His jaw nuzzled into my hair, and I almost hated how good it felt. How easy it was for him to distract me. To melt away my frustrations.

With a deep breath, I turned in his arms until our gazes locked. “You told me you wouldn’t use any more magic.”

“I really don’t know what happened,” he confessed, his palms planting on either side of me, and suddenly he did have me pinned, right to the dresser. “But it won’t happen again. Well…” His voice trailed, and my eyes narrowed. “I’ll have to use magic. Just one more time.”

“Just one more time,” I echoed, not believing what I was hearing but also not too surprised. Of course he would keep using the trident’s magic despite all the reasons not to. Even though he was putting his very life on the line. Barren seemed to be aware of this outcome from the start.

Leander pressed in closer, and I pushed back on his chest. “I think this is going to be a problem, Lee. You, this trident.” An exhausted huff escaped me. “I wish…” I swallowed the words before they escaped, but Leander tensed up like he’d already understood my thoughts.

I wish you had chosen differently.

He drew away like I’d stung him, a shaky hand finding its way back into his hair in a way that made my heart ache. “I did what I—” He stopped with a shake of his head, turning away from me. But not before the sorrow in his eyes had told me he didn’t think I’d ever truly understand. “I’ll need to use the trident’s magic one more time. When we go back down to the portal.”

“Wait, what? The portal? ” Without realizing it, I’d reached for him, using his arm to steady myself.

We couldn’t go back down there, back to the portal. That’s where those—those things , the cecaelia, had been. “I don’t know, Lee…”

“I’ve seen my father work it a thousand times,” he assured me, but that wasn’t the issue at all.

“You’re forgetting that the trident wasn’t inside your father like it’s inside you.”

The arm I held tensed as he flexed his wrist. “One quick tap. That’s all the portal needs. And you say you can see it. Right here.” He gestured to his arm and my eyes fell on the dark stain the trident had branded over his skin.

“We… we almost died the last time we went in the water, Lee.” My breathing deepened, my chest feeling heavier with every movement of my lungs. We couldn’t return to the Atlantic, where the sound of our pursuers surely still echoed off the waves and the danger of being torn apart seemed imminent.

He chuckled then, though it was a brittle, joyless sound. “We’re merfolk, Claira,” he said. Not at all the comfort I needed. “Water isn’t dangerous to us. It’s like a human not wanting to stay on land because of the otters.”

I paused to stare at him. “You’ve… never actually seen an otter, have you?”

“Well, I know fish are fucking petrified of them. Come on, you have a boat. We can take that, pop down, and if I can’t get the portal to open, we’ll swim back up.”

“Oh really? It’s that simple, is it?” I scoffed, my fear turning into frustration. “Like I’d really abandon my boat in the middle of the Atlantic. I don’t expect a prince to understand, but Lady Ochre is Dad and Gram’s livelihood, and I’m not giving her up just so the Indian Ocean can get their trident back faster. Barren and Kai flew here. If Barren’s queen wants me there so badly, she can book us a flight.”

My words hung heavy in the air, and the silence that followed felt like it would last forever until Leander finally gave a nod. “You’re right.”

All I could do was blink. “Excuse me?”

“You’re right. Barren and I should have talked the plan over with you before deciding,” he continued, his quick acceptance of my feelings an unexpected shock. I’d expected him to try to convince me. To use more smooth words, more charms, but he seemed to understand. “We didn’t want Queen Javalynn to know of your arrival until Barren discovered her intentions for you, but we shouldn’t have assumed you’d be comfortable going back into the water after that fucking hell we went through.”

I was still working through his words when he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “Take all the time you need to visit your family. Your face lights up when you talk about this place and the humans here. I owe them a great debt for keeping you safe on land.” His arms tightened over my shoulders before falling away. “I won’t let anyone take you away until you’re ready.”

A warm sensation spread through my chest. Leander might not have been able to keep the Indian Ocean from taking me away, but it was a comfort to know he wanted me to stay as long as I needed.

“Thanks, Lee. For understanding.” I gave him a smile that he returned with a grin, his hands sliding over my waist to draw me closer.

“See, I do have manners,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re such a gentleman,” I deadpanned. I could feel an eye roll coming on, but my skin tingled where his strong hands held my hips. “I want to spend time with Dad before we leave. Maybe I can tag along next time he takes the boat?—”

A thought struck me, and I turned the idea around in my head a few times before voicing it out loud. “I suppose Dad could sail us out by the portal if he knew the way. He knows about… Us .”

Leander’s eyes turned smoldering as his chin dipped, golden hair spilling over his forehead as he leaned closer. “Oh, really? You told him about us?”

His arms caged possessively around me. I tried to wiggle out of them, but he wouldn’t give me up. “Not us , us. When would I have even done that, Lee?” My voice rose with exasperation even as a smile tugged at my lips. “I haven’t even seen him since we—” My jaw snapped shut in a way that caused his smirk to grow, his lips practically taunting me to complete that thought as their curve widened. Sighing, I dropped my voice to a sharp whisper. “Us as in what we are !”

“Even better,” he threw back smoothly. “If he knows, then I bet he’ll be willing to help us.”

“Fine, I’ll find time away from Gram to ask him.”

The sound of the front door opening reverberated through the walls, sending my heartbeat into overdrive. I wriggled out of Leander’s grasp like an eel, dodging his fingers as I dashed for the bedroom door. My feet carried me through the hall and back into the living room before the sight in front of me registered, and I nearly stumbled over my feet.

Kai and Barren were both seated at the kitchen table. Their forks scraped against the delicate serving plates sitting in front of them as they dug into slices of pie. Gram sat in her usual rocker, her eyes glinting in the light while she kept an eagle-eyed watch on the table. As they ate, she rocked back and forth in her chair, casually buffing the pirate pistol on her lap with the end of her shawl.

“Can never be too careful,” she said in a low, eerie voice just as Dad’s shoulder edged through the front door.

“Jeanette, I don’t believe it! You’ll never guess what’s sitting out here, right on our front steps.” He threw a look back over his shoulder, stomping his boots out on the welcome mat, completely oblivious to my presence. “I’ve never seen a creature more beautiful,” he continued, gushing. “I caught sight of it first while I was docking the boat, and can you believe it? It followed me all the way back up to the porch! Sitting right there, the prettiest sight I’ve ever seen.”

“And you’ll never guess who else has turned up,” Gram said, her voice carrying over the creaking of her rocker. “And the friends she’s brought with her,” she added, throwing me a mischievous glance.

Dad’s head snapped forward, and his boots nearly took out the doorframe as he pushed inside to reach me. “Claira!”

He’d hardly gotten his arms around me before I heard Gram’s voice, exasperated and sharp. “Now, now, don’t start blubbering, John. Not in front of our company.”

Dad clenched his eyes shut like he was attempting to stop himself, but then his head shook, and the tears still spilled over, wetting his cheeks. “You’re all right? They didn’t hurt you or nothing, did they?” I shook my head no, and he held me tighter. “Jeanette, she—oh, she missed you so much.” The tears were really streaming now, and Gram sighed as she lifted off her rocker.

Her arms waved in defeat as she mumbled, “I’ll get the tissues.”

“Thanks, Gram.” My lungs were tight from being squeezed half to death, but I couldn’t help but laugh, feeling that we’d already fallen right back to our crazy sort of normal.

Between the two of them, Dad always seemed to feel things more deeply. Or, at the very least, he wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. Even when I was a kid, whenever I’d been hurt, he was always the first to get teary. He taught me it was all right to express my emotions. That even if merfolk couldn’t cry underwater, it was okay to cry on land.

Gram broke up our embrace by handing Dad a tissue, and after he blew his nose a few times, his damp eyes settled on something over my shoulder.

A voice called out, “Sir,” from behind me, and when I looked, Leander was folded forward, bowing low and straight. It wasn’t the same as when Kai had done it. Leander had so much confidence and authority that it rendered me speechless.

Then it hit me—I’d never seen Leander bow to anyone.

Well, okay, he’d bowed to a card table turned phone charger shrine once. But that bow wasn’t like this. This was as if he was showing respect to a king.

Dad glanced from Leander to Gram before noticing the two others seated at the kitchen table. He took a second, his eyes sliding over their unique features, before he turned down to me. The unspoken word, merfolk , passed between us as understanding settled over his eyes.

“This is Barren, Kai, and Leander,” I said, gesturing to the three of them. Then I swallowed hard. Here we go again . “They’re my… friends.” Thankfully, the lie came out smoother this time. Totally believable.

That is, until Gram threw her hands in the air and vented a “Ha!”

Dad’s eyebrows drew in closer, and I quickly cleared my throat. “Gram let them come in. I hope you don’t mind.”

He gave Leander another look just as the front door creaked open. Laverne’s flippers made a slippery swishing sound as she glided along the linoleum. After a quick survey of the room, she made for the kitchen table, where she flopped into the chair next to Kai, her snout pointed high.

“And this is?—”

Dad’s gasp cut me off. “Would you look at that? It followed me inside! Look, Claira. Look how beautiful it is.”

He veered over to the table, drawn to Laverne in much the same way Kai had been drawn to the doorstop. “I’ve never seen a sea lion this far south. Look how fit and sleek its coat is.”

Laverne puffed and preened, gobbling up the praise while Kai gave her a good scratch underneath her chin. “This is Laverne,” Kai said, giving Dad a smile. “She’s also included in the group of Claira’s new friends.”

Then Kai suddenly turned his bright smile on me, and my stomach tumbled at the sight. “The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” he said airily, and his face flushed a pale pink as his gaze lingered on me, leaving me uncertain if he was referring to me or Laverne.

Laverne didn’t doubt his intentions one bit though. She rumbled a series of clinks, her chin nuzzling into his hand.

Dad picked up the empty plate in front of Barren with a frown. “Now, Jeanette, don’t think you can give these fine folks some pie to get out of feeding them dinner.” He walked the plate to the sink, then returned to gawk some more at Laverne. She was sitting in my usual seat, but something told me he wasn’t about to ask her to move.

Gram stood there with one hand on her hip and another on her pistol, her face pinched like she was aware she’d been caught. Then she stared at Barren, maybe a little too long, before sighing. “I better throw in a few more potatoes into the pot, then.” She stuffed the pirate pistol back under her shawl. “Looks like we’re going to need them.”

* * *

I couldn’t believe Gram agreed to let Laverne eat with us at the dinner table. Or that Laverne had demanded we place a bowl of stew on the table for her so she could have the same thing we were having.

Okay, maybe that one wasn’t too surprising—Laverne seemed to enjoy watching everyone bend over backward to please her.

At least Leander didn’t care enough about her to bother masking his disinterest. He was too focused on shooting me heated looks and trying to find my leg with his underneath the table to notice anyone else. But Dad was thrilled with the arrangement and had no trouble recruiting Kai to help him fetch a few dusty chairs from the shed to make sure everyone had a place at the table. By the time dinner was ready, we sat shoulder to shoulder, and it was definitely not awkward.

Not at all.

Dad took a bite of stew, then wiped his mouth with a napkin. “So, how is Laverne enjoying the Crystal Coast?” It was hard to ignore how interested he was in her journey, yet he hadn’t pushed me for more details about mine.

I stopped my negative train of thought right there. Pull yourself together, Claira. It only made sense that Dad hadn’t brought up what I’d been through. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but that he was trying to avoid talking about it in front of Gram.

Kai dropped his spoon, eager to reply to more of Dad’s ceaseless questioning. I couldn’t tell if Laverne was the one supplying Kai with the answers or if he already knew all there was to know about her.

“She’s loving the surf,” he said, then gave Laverne’s thick neck a firm pat. “Aren’t you, pretty girl? She goes out as often as we can spare her company.”

Spare her company? Pfft.

Laverne’s whiskers pulled flat as she gave a quick, confident nod.

I scooped up a chunk of meat, perhaps too forcefully, and stuffed it into my mouth. I wasn’t jealous of a sea lion. Nope. Nu-uh.

“I bet you never want to take your eyes off her.” Dad’s dreamy sigh had me inadvertently kicking Leander in the shin when I shifted uneasily in my seat. He didn’t appear to be bothered by it, though, and his leg quickly returned for more.

“The water can be dangerous around here. Riptides and all that,” Dad continued. “Wouldn’t be wise to let her go out alone, don’t you agree, Claira?”

“Yeah,” I said tightly. “Laverne is a joy to have around and should be protected at all costs.”

“Exactly!” Dad said, snapping his fingers. Barren masked a bark of laughter with a cough as Dad leaned forward in his chair. “We’ve got lots of predators around here. Even something as small as a sharpnose can do a lot of damage if they get their teeth around you just right.”

Embarrassed that Barren had picked up on the sarcasm in my remark, I turned down to stare at my bowl. I couldn’t believe I was being immature enough to voice my jealousy out loud. I’d been so excited to be back home, only to have Laverne steal the spotlight. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on Leander for taking revenge on a seabird.

By the time dinner was over, I knew Laverne’s preferred fish to hunt, where she grew up, and even her favorite song to yap along to on the radio. All very important Laverne facts that would surely be useful to me sometime in the future. You know, if she ever decided to not hate me. Yeah, not likely .

After Kai finished the last bite of Laverne’s portion of stew, I stood up to collect the dishes. She’d made a noise from deep in her throat when he’d first gone for her bowl, as if she was about to snap at him for daring to take the offering meant for her. But then she’d glanced at my dad and thought better of it. Wouldn’t want to spoil my dad’s perfect image of her by showing her actual personality, now would she?

Barren stacked Leander and Kai’s empty bowls over his own and rose from the table.

“Oh, let me get that,” I said, but he headed for the sink before I could take the stack from him. Then, to my surprise, he started doing the dishes. I stood behind him in awe, watching how efficiently he worked and scrubbed with one arm.

Wow . No matter what he did, Barren was amazing. Even in the water, he was the fastest swimmer out of the three of them and never let anything slow him down.

When he’d finished washing what was in the sink, I tapped him on the left shoulder. “Mmh?” he hummed, and my lips curved up into a smile as his head tilted back to me.

“Thanks, Barren,” I said softly, passing him the rest of the bowls. “But I could have done those.”

“Oh, let him work without you fussing and hovering over him, Claira.” Gram got up from her chair, making a show of stretching out her back. “Hard to find a man these days who knows his way around a sponge.” She shot Dad a look that could freeze fire. “Isn’t that right, John?”

Gram had been surprisingly quiet during dinner, letting Dad do all the talking. She was never one to open her mouth during a good meal unless it was to put more food inside it. Now that she was full… Well, who knew what she would say?

Dad’s mouth drooped into a frown. “What? I clean up around here plenty.”

“Mm-hmm.” Gram tutted, her nose wrinkling in distaste at the sight of Dad’s muck-crusted boots. Then she turned her soured look to me. “And I suppose you’ll be wanting them to spend the night.”

My heart raced. “Oh, I…” Had I expected them to spend the night? It hadn’t even occurred to me how late it was getting and how we’d all need somewhere to sleep.

I turned to Leander and Kai at the table for some help, but their expressions were split between sinful mischief and eager curiosity. I barely kept my voice from squeaking when I said, “I mean, I guess. Could they? Is—is that okay?”

I’d never had a guest stay overnight. Definitely not three grown men. Or a sea lion.

“Of course they’ll stay,” Dad chimed in. He was scratching Laverne under the chin now, in the place where Kai had told him she liked to be scratched on the most.

Before I could ask the obvious question of where they were going to stay, Dad supplied, “If we move the couch back a bit, there’ll be plenty of room out here.”

“I guess I’ll grab some quilts then,” I said, feeling strangely excited. “And we’ve got some extra throw pillows in the closet.”

It was oddly comforting to see Dad and Gram so ready to accept them into their home.

“Make yourselves comfortable, you three—” Gram’s gaze fixed on Laverne. “— Four . Bring the fish in too, John. Might as well invite the rest of the ocean in there while we’re at it.” She waved a hand around before exhaling a deep sigh. “What a day this has turned into.”

When I passed Gram on my way to the linen closet, I gave her hand a squeeze and quietly said, “Thanks, Gram. For letting them stay.”

“Of course, dear,” she said before turning back to the others. “There’s water in the tap, and the bathroom is down the hall.” She gave the back of my hand a loving pat before snapping her hand away and leaning in to whisper, “But don’t think I won’t be keeping one eye out here tonight, young lady. I’m determined to find out which of these troublemakers might end up becoming my future grandson-in-law.”

“Gram!” I let out a gasp, glancing back to see if anyone else had heard her.

“Oh, I’m only teasing, dear.” She laughed, deep and rich, like hosting this crazy dinner party was the most amusement she’d had in ages. “But if I were you,” she started, leaning back in, “I’d choose the one who did the dishes without being asked.” Then she waggled her eyebrows. “I’ve always had a thing for drummers.”

* * *

Words couldn’t describe the joy of taking a hot shower, getting into clean underwear and pajamas that actually fit me, and then lying down in my own bed. I barely had time to think about whether Leander would ignore my request not to sneak into my bedroom or if the others would be comfortable sleeping on the living room floor before I drifted off to sleep.

Leander must have respected my privacy for once, because when the sound of the front door opening woke me, I was still alone, just me and my unicorn comforter. When I looked at the five on my alarm clock, I knew it was Dad who had left through the front door. It seemed even staying up late to dote on Laverne hadn’t kept him from waking well before the sun.

I took an extra ten seconds to savor the comfort of my pillow before rising out of bed and changing into my thermal overalls. If I hurried, I’d be able to spend some time with Dad before the others woke up. Opening my closet, I grabbed a fresh pair of boots and took special care to lace them tight. I spared a second to brush out my hair and smoothed it back before slipping out of my room.

A medley of snores reverberated from the living room, and I was relieved to hear Laverne among them—by far the loudest snorer of all. Without her around as a distraction, maybe I’d actually get to talk to Dad. I was on my way to the front door when something snagged me by the leg.

Looking down, I spotted Kai’s sleepy grin in the darkness, his arm stretching out from under his blanket to wrap a hand around my ankle. His voice barely reached a whisper as he said, “Have fun.”

“Thanks,” I mouthed back, and my heart melted when he lovingly touched the side of my boot, holding his hand there for a moment before letting go. “Get some more sleep,” I said, and his smile held when he tucked his arm back under the quilt and closed his eyes.

Outside, the air was crisp enough to wake me more than a cup of coffee would have. The light was on in the shed. I jogged over, and when I opened the door, I found Dad winding a net at his workbench.

“Need some help?” I asked, even though we both knew how terrible I was at winding nets. Dad always managed to keep the nets in a neat and usable state as he wound them, unlike the tangled disaster I created whenever I attempted the same.

The look in his eyes when he glanced up told me he was glad to have me for company. “I’ve got a few on top of the barrel that need mending.”

“Sounds easy enough,” I said, and he chuckled as he continued to work. After gathering my favorite mending shuttles, I fetched the topmost net and sat on the empty stool at the workbench.

As I held the shuttle and net in my hands, my head began to clear. Mending a net often felt like working through a puzzle, and it was nice to face a familiar problem I knew I could solve. Starting at the top and working side to side, I cut threads and tied new knots as we fell into a companionable silence.

For a moment, I could imagine nothing had changed, and I was home for good. That tomorrow morning, I’d wake up and do more of the usual, living this beautifully simple human life.

Only something in me had changed since the last time I’d sat here next to Dad mending nets. I wasn’t the same Claira I had been, and I wondered if I could ever fully return to this life.

Or if I even wanted to.

After securing the last nylon knot, I let the net sag in my lap. “Hey, Dad?”

For the first time since I came to join him with his chores, Dad’s hands stopped moving. He looked up from the net he’d been winding, his gaze thoughtful. “What’s on your mind, Claire-bear?”

“I—” And that’s when I told him. About fishing up Leander and about the merfolk’s curse. About King Eamon finding out, which led to my abduction and the impossible task that the mer kingdoms expected from me.

There were things I didn’t tell him—things that were too hard or too uncomfortable to explain, like the thrall , the cecaelia, and my encounters with my birth father. But Dad didn’t seem to mind the gaps in my story, and if there were any parts that didn’t quite make sense, he didn’t dwell on them.

By the time I’d made it to what our plan was next, the shuttle was shaking in my hand, and streams of silent tears had wet Dad’s face all the way down to his neck. Even though I’d left out the danger and uncertainty of heading to the portal, Dad was so overcome with emotion I wondered if he’d somehow felt all the words I was keeping to myself. “So, would you mind taking Lady Ochre for us? So we can see if—if the portal will work?”

He took the net I’d been working on from me to pull me into a tight bear hug. “I’ll take you to the Indian Ocean myself if that’s what you need.” When he pulled away, he sniffled, wiping fresh tears from his eyes. “Anything for you, kiddo. That’s what family’s for.”